The Viper Island is located on a crescent shaped island near Haddo Wharf, at the mouth of Port Blair harbour in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It was once a full-fledged prison for local and mainland convicts. The Island had a gallows on top of a hillock where condemned prisoners were hanged.

The first jail constructed here was abandoned after commissioning of Cellular Jail. The island serves as a tourist attraction. The British used to detain convicts here. Sher Ali, who killed Lord Mayo, the Viceroy of India in 1872, was also hanged here.

The tiny, serene, beautiful island of Viper witnessed the untold sufferings the freedom fighters had to undergo. Dangerous convicts found guilty of violating the rules of the Penal Settlement, were put in fetters and were forced to work with their fetters on this island. 

Owing to the working conditions, the jail earned the notorious name Viper Chain Gang Jail. The island derives its name from the vessel ‘Viper' in which Lt. Archibald Blair came to the islands in 1768 with the purpose of establishing a Penal Settlement.

The Harbour cruise, available daily from Phoenix Bay Jetty (at 3 PM), provides a panoramic view of different points around the harbour and includes a trip to Viper Island.

Return to Sightseeing spots in and around Port Blair or Go back to Andaman-Nicobar Tourism guide